Large Mammal Restoration: Ecological And Sociological Challenges In The 21st Century - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1559638176 ISBN 13: 9781559638173

Publisher: Island Press, 2001

Synopsis

Evidence is mounting that top carnivores and other large mammals play a pivotal role in regulating ecosystem health and function, yet those are the species that are most likely to have been eliminated by past human activities. In recent decades, numerous efforts have been undertaken to return some of the species that were previously extirpated on local or regional scales.Large Mammal Restoration brings together for the first time detailed case studies of those efforts, from restoring elk in Appalachia to returning bison herds to the Great Plains to the much-publicized effort to bring back the gray wolf to Yellowstone National Park. Together these case studies offer important lessons and new ways of thinking for wildlife managers and conservation biologists involved with restoration programs. Sections examine: approaches to determining the feasibility of a restoration program critical hands-on aspects of restoring large mammals obtaining public input into the process and gaining community support for programs the potential of some species to return without direct human intervention, and what can be done to facilitate that natural colonization An introductory chapter by Reed F. Noss explores some of the reasons for restoring large mammals, as well as some of the ecological and social complications, and a concluding overview by David S. Maehr discusses the evolutionary importance of large mammal restoration. Contributors include Paul C. Paquet, Barbara Dugelby, Steven H. Fritts, Paul R. Krausman, Larry D. Harris, Johnna Roy, and many others. Large Mammal Restoration brings together in a single volume essential information on the lessons learned from previous efforts, providing an invaluable resource for researchers and students of conservation biology and wildlife management as well as for policymakers, restoration advocates, and others involved with the planning or execution of a restoration program.

About this title

About the Author

David S. Maehr is assistant professor of conservation biology in the Department of Forestry at the University of Kentucky and author of The Florida Panther (Island Press, 1997).

Reed F. Noss is a consultant in conservation biology, past editor of the journal Conservation Biology, and president of the Society for Conservation Biology (1999 - 2001). He is the author of The Redwood Forest (Island Press, 2000), The Science of Conservation Planning (Island Press, 1997) and Saving Nature's Legacy (Island Press, 1994). He also wrote the foreword for Restoring Diversity (Island Press, 1996).

Jeffery L. Larkin is a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Kentucky.

Edition details

• Publisher: Island Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1559638176
• ISBN 13: 9781559638173
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 375
• Editor: David S. Maehr, Reed F. Noss, Jeffery L. Larkin